How to balance Episode with work/school.A how to guide on it all.

Helllloooooooo....

Today this blog post is about How to Balance School and Work with Episode writing. This is one of the hardest thing that I have had to deal with since writing Episode stories. It's frustrating and can mean that stories are not updated when they need to be or want to be. So how do you deal with it? Well here are 5 things you can do:

1. Create a timetable. Don't think about Missing days off work or school cause that's stupid. Education and work are one of the main things in life. As much as Episode can be fun, it should only be a hobby or stress relief activity. You may find that you are obsessively trying to find time to write, that's great but you will end up coming across issues if you don't balance this out. Just remember school, work family and friends are all real.... unlike your stories so focus more on them. Once you've thought about what things are the biggest priority, create a timetable based around these. Any commitments should be added to the table. Examples of this are: Coffee Mornings, school revision sessions, Birthday Parties, work and school, homework etc. If you are really willing to, get rid of a few commitments. Do you really need to go weekly shoe shopping or can you substitute it for writing?? And what about eating? Does it come before Episode? Of course..... not. Don't stop being human just because you have stupid people who call themselves fans pestering you to write, and not live. Think about what you really need to do and what you can get rid of. Add any lunches, breakfasts and dinners too. Add in your Episode time. Anywhere you may have a spare hour or two fit it in. Try to make time at least 3 times a week but no more the 5. Maybe an hour a day for 5 days or 2 hours after school. Try not cram too many things in the week either. You probably have a lot of time already being used up so add only a few hours a week of episode and using this plan out what you will write during this time. REMEMBER to add in pauses. This is were you will take a break, relax or just chill and do something untimetabled. There will be unexpected events which even a superhuman can't predict so try not to be upset if you cannot strictly stick to this routine.

2. Planning your stories in advance. If you don't want to write a timetable, try to map out how much you can write in a week during your spare time. Then using this work out how much you will write or what you will write before the time you write approaches. I usually plan out my storyline and characters before I go to bed. I write instead of reading at night. I'm weird lol! But it helps me as I don't have to plan out everything on the spot. I have a plan, can write everything quickly and it should save time and you can quickly publish your story!!!

3. Collaboration? Another thing you could do is ask someone to work with you. Collaboration on your Episode stories will not only get your work done quicker but could give you inspiration and help you work better. Choose someone who you trust. This may not be ideal at first as you may want credit for your own work but it will help. Just make sure you choose someone with the same writing style and vocab so the story flows and there's no errrors. (See what I did there?)

4.Step by Step. How about writing your dialogue first then adding in animations and spot direction after? This way all the writing is done which is the main part and then you can focus more on spot direction and zooming .etc which is the harder bit, when you get more time. Spend an hour or two writing the dialogue one day. And another time spend the rest spot directing, planning out animations etc. It saves time and you can get a lot done.

And 5. Write bits in advance. It's like 2, but this time you write your work anytime you have a free minute or two. Then you can slowly progress and your episodes will be done. Maybe, during lunch breaks, in the library, or somewhere you can access a computer.

Some tips for you to use:

-Write using a computer/laptop instead of a phone. The screen is usually smaller on phones, and it is more fiddly to work with. Using a laptop will mean your work will be more specific and it is quicker.

- Set your deadline dates loosely. Don't tell your readers a specific update date. You might not be able to update during this time, resulting in unhappy readers and a box worth of stress on your shoulders.

- Finally, only write if your happy. It shouldn't feel like a chore. If your losing motivation but know you want to continue, read an actual book, go to a park, finish off a project you started ages ago. Just spend time doing something you usually don't do, and love equally as much.

Okey, then. That's all for today. If there's any more advice that you need you know where to find me: